The Game's End 1: A Thorned Rose
by SnowStormInSummer
Summary: The story of Nina Flowers, the illegitimate daughter of Mace Tyrell, and her part in bringing about an end to the Game of Thrones. Rated T for violence and possible strong language. Viserys/OC, Daenerys&OC Friendship.
1. Lord of Highgarden

**A/N: Ok, so I probably should wait until Save Them or The Maia is finished before I upload this, but I am very impatient and really want to post this. I hope you enjoy, and a quick disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Mace

The serving maid was pretty. Not pretty in the way that his wife was, granted, but still pretty. He had never wanted to marry Alerie, and although her fair silver hair and pretty face were enticing, he still wished he was free from her. This girl, Nella, had long brown curls and big doe-like eyes. Mace had bedded her easily, for she was meek and quiet and obeyed his every command. When she gave birth to a girl, he felt magnanimous and acknowledged her. He put her to work in his kitchen and paid her a monthly allowance, and let her take the name Flowers. But he didn't love her - how could he, when she was not trueborn? He soon lost his love for her mother, as hard work roughened her hands and lined her brow, and as hunger reduced the curve of her hips. The girl child was taught her place from a young age, as one day he caught her playing with Willas and Garlan in the garden. He had beaten her and taken her back to the kitchen, telling her never to play with his children again.

She had obeyed, and never called him father after that either. He doubted if she was intelligent enough to realise that she was far luckier than most bastards, for she seemed to resent him, and scowled whenever she saw him. When she gave him a particularly nasty look, he would hit her hard. But most of the time she was a good girl, working hard at her job and respectfully calling him "My Lord".

Mace never bothered to learn her name. He did not see the point in learning it. She was only bastard filth, after all. She was not a true Tyrell. He had known her mother's name, but once their dalliance ended he had let it slip from his mind. She did not matter, anyway. She had been only a passing fancy, and meant no more to him than her daughter.

_I am Lord of Highgarden, _he thought to himself, _and I need not trouble myself over foolish peasant women._


	2. Bastard of Highgarden

**A/N: Hi! This is my first attempt at a series. I don't own A Song Of Ice And Fire and please be warned that there may be spoilers for series 1-4 of Game of Thrones.**

Nina

It was her nineteenth name day, and the only celebration she had was that she passed Margaery in the corridor, and she had smiled at her. Margaery was the only one who talked to her anymore. Willas and Garlan had been forbidden from speaking to her by their father, and Loras did not even know that she was his sister. Margaery had also pressed a small gift into her hand. It was only a bag of gold coins, but it was the only gift Nina had ever received and it meant a lot.

Later that day, Margaery came down to the kitchens and asked if she might "borrow Nina". Most of the staff turned a blind eye to this improper friendship, although the implacable head cook highly disapproved and had to be avoided whenever possible.

"Our cousin Clemaria is coming to stay for a few weeks," she told Nina, " she is no more than ten years of age. She is said to be very kind, do you think she will speak with you?"

"I doubt it," was Nina's reply, "few care for the baseborn, least of all those who have all that they want in life."

"You dishonour me, sister," Margaery replied, clearly hurt by the comment.

Nina blushed as she realised the implications of what she had said, and quickly explained that she had not been thinking of Margaery, who was clearly the exception to the rule. Margaery accepted the apology graciously and they continued to talk, of how Clemaria was the grand-daughter of their father's uncle, of how when her visit to Highgarden concluded they would travel on to King's Landing and visit King Robert, of Willas' lame leg and Garlan's achievements in the tiltyard, of Loras' studies and Nella's bad cough. Margaery was just offering to visit the Maester and fetch a tincture for the woman she affectionately called "Stepmama" when they heard their father's heavy tread on the stairs nearby. Margaery blanched, knowing that if they were discovered she would be beaten and Nina turned out.

Nina turned to rush back to the kitchen, but it was too late, Mace had already seen her. He grabbed her arm and twisted it until tears came into her eyes, but she bit her lip and made no sound.

"I'll be having words with you, you stupid girl, getting ideas above your station! And as for you, Margaery, I thought better of you. I thought you were intelligent enough to know these people were beneath you!"

Then he turned Nina out of the house, without even letting her say goodbye.

Nina wrote two letters, one to her mother and one to Margaery, and sneaked them in with the help of a stable boy. Then she found a blacksmith in the town and gave him the gold coins, with the words:

"Make me the sharpest, strongest, fastest sword you've ever made."

When it was complete, she buckled it around her waist, (for the money had been enough for a belt and scabbard too), and looked at the money that the honest blacksmith had given her back, saying he had no use for it. It was enough, he told her, for passage to Essos. And the kindly man also found some old clothes of his son's for her to wear, meaning she could move more easily. When she tried to pay for these, he refused, telling her that he believed in the old Targaryen Kings, and if she went to Essos and sought to further their cause, he would consider himself well paid.

"What will you name your sword?" he asked her. She smiled slightly and brushed her fingers over the hilt.

"Sleepbringer," she answered, "because all who threaten me will meet the sleep of death."

The blacksmith told her it was a good name, and then she travelled until she came to a port from whence she could take ship for Essos.

The blacksmith had got from her a solemn promise that she would find the Dragon King and help him, and she intended to honour it if she could, although where she would find a means of transport once her voyage was done, she could not say.


	3. Dragon King

**A/N: Hello**** there! I own nothing and thanks to all of you who reviewed.**

Viserys

He did not like being woken in the middle of the night, least of all by Ser Jorah. Jorah was always frowning, always looking as if someone had died or as if he had watched a babe being horribly maimed. Viserys would have quite liked to watch Jorah being horribly maimed, he thought as he pulled on his robes in the small hours of the morning. A visitor, at this time of night! Could they not wait until dawn?

He hurried across the dark field, ignoring the Dothraki sentinels who stared at him in confusion, wondering why the Last Dragon was wandering across a dark field in hastily pulled-on robes, looking irritable.

He entered the tent he used for when he kept court, which was not often. Inside, waiting for him, was his mysterious visitor. He seated himself upon the large, ornate chair at the front of the room and took a good look at whoever had come to disturb his peace. He was utterly surprised to discover that his guest was a woman. She was dressed in men's clothes, it was true, and wore a sword on her hip, but she was unmistakably female. She stood tall and confident, and when she spoke, it was with the cultured voice of a noble-born lady.

"I sincerely apologise, sire, for rousing you at this uncivilised hour," she began, bowing slightly and giving him a look that almost seemed to be daring him to complain. Viserys waved a hand dismissively and told her to forget about the pleasantries and tell him why she had come. She smiled, although her smile seemed rather bitter, and answered,

"I am come to join your Kingsguard. A good man told me to defend my King, and so here I am."

Viserys could not help himself - he threw his head back and laughed aloud. The very notion was preposterous. A woman, in the Kingsguard?

"What is your name, bold young lady?" he asked.

"Nina Flowers, my Lord."

"A bastard from the Reach?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"What house?" Viserys asked, surprised that any noble house was willing to let its acknowledged bastard flee to Essos to support a rebel cause. Then again, they had probably not actively endorsed her behaviour, and it was never a bad thing to have a bastard off your hands.

"Tyrell."

"Well, Nina Flowers, bastard of House Tyrell, you may _not _have a place in my Kingsguard."

Viserys rather liked the expression on the girl's face after he said those words: it was a mix of outrage and despair.

"Never fear, I shall not turn you out," he promised condescendingly, "you may serve as handmaid to my sister. And as proof of your devotion to the Targaryen cause, give me your sword."

Nina's hand drifted to her sword hilt, and she looked at him in a sly manner that he did not like.

"My liege, I beg you not to part me from Sleepbringer. Every extra armed person could be the difference between victory and failure if we are attacked on the road."

Viserys did not like her; of that he was sure. She was too cunning and too logical.

"Get away with you and find some woman's garb," he commanded, "and keep your precious blade if you must. Only do not trouble me so early in the day next time you have some urgent case to plead with me."

She left, looking a little discontented at being forced to serve his sister. _Serves her right_, Viserys thought, _she's getting ideas above her station_.

Then he returned to his other tent and went back to bed, grumbling about foolish women and how little sleep he would get. The next morning, he decided, he would ensure that Dany's other maids knew that the girl was an outsider and should not be offered companionship or advice or any form of kindness. She was far too impertinent for her own good, and deserved cutting down to size.

She was not all that bad to look at, though.


	4. Khaleesi

**A/N: Hi! I hope you are enjoying the story so far! I own nothing, please review!**

Daenerys

The next morning, Dany woke to see an unfamiliar face looming over her. A tall young woman was standing there, holding one of her gowns.

"I am your new maid, Nina, your highness." she answered, "I wished to join your brother's Kingsguard, but he deemed it unsuitable."

She sounded bitter about that, Dany thought. She allowed the girl to help her dress, noticing the sword on her hip. She seemed a few years older than Daenerys, and although she dressed in the style of Dothraki women, she seemed like she would be more suitable in men's attire.

As Nina helped her dress, Daenerys learned all about her past - growing up at Highgarden, the prejudice she had been forced to face, being thrown out. She seemed incredibly disaffected, as if all these things had happened not to her but to a complete stranger.

Dany was glad to hear of Westeros, for despite all Viserys' promises that they would return there soon, it felt as if they would never be home. Not that Daenerys could remember "home". All recollection of it was lost to her.

Soon the _khalasar _was on the move, and Dany ruminated on the puzzle that was her new maid. She imagined that the girl intended to be her bodyguard as well as helping her dress. Nina rode further back, with Irri, Jhiqui and Doreah. From her stealthy glances back, Dany could tell that the other girls were pointedly ignoring her. Daenerys had never given much thought to the conditions of bastards, but now she wondered if perhaps Nina's parentage was causing her problems among the other maids. She doubted it, as they were not familiar with the customs of the Seven Kingdoms, but if it was, Dany decided she would soon put a stop to it.

When they made camp that night, Daenerys watched Nina carefully as she folded her clothes and stored her other possessions. While she handled them all with diligent care, she seemed angry about something.

"What is it Nina?" she asked. The girl looked up, surprised.

"What is what, _khaleesi_?" she responded.

"Why do you look like a child in a temper?" Dany asked, rather irritable that her maid was being so slow.

"I am not angry, your highness. I am merely a little unhappy. I have three brothers and a sister, and although my sister talks - used to talk - to me, my older brothers ignore, I mean ignored, me, and my youngest brother is unaware of our shared blood even now. If your brother ever becomes King, Daenerys, try and get him to put a stop to this cruel way of treating people like me."

Dany was speechless for a moment, then she gave Nina what she hoped was an encouraging smile. She had no influence with Viserys, or very little, and doubted she would be able to offer the solution that the girl wanted.

By this time Drogo had entered the tent, and seemed surprised to find Nina still there. She bowed low to him, allowed him to pass and went out.

She was growing more mysterious by the day.


	5. Serving-Maid

**A/N: Hi there! Warning that this chapter contains violence and sexual harassment. **

Nina

One day, Nina was standing guard outside Dany's tent, a messenger approached her. Apparently the King required her presence in his tent. She nodded to Aggo, the bloodrider beside her, and followed the summons.

At first the bloodriders had opposed the idea of any maid being a guard, but Nina had been determined. She had been forbidden from guarding the King, but she _would _guard his sister. The bloodriders had been hostile towards her at first, but Aggo at least was warming to her. She suspected it was because she was quiet and did not attempt to speak to him, because she asked no questions and told no lies, and because she was devoted to Viserys and Daenerys and, by extension, his _khal. _

She was surprised when she was directed to Viserys' personal, rather than public, tent, and even more surprised when the King told the messenger to leave them, but when she saw the smug smile on his face she realised what was happening and felt contempt flower inside her.

Viserys sat lazily on his bed, regarding her the way a cat does a mouse - full of the certainty of having his victim right where he wanted it. Nina, however, was in no mood to be toyed with.

"Take your clothes off," he commanded, "I want to bed you."

"I will not!" she exclaimed, outraged.

He leapt up from the bed and came toward her. When his face was mere inches from hers, he hissed:

"Now listen here, you cold, unyielding girl, I am the King. You will do as I tell you if you value the breath in your body, do you understand?"

Nina glanced over at the bed he had vacated. On it lay his sword, discarded carelessly. Sleepbringer, however, was buckled at her side, as always. Within seconds she had him in an armlock, her blade pressed against his throat.

"The only thing _I _understand, Viserys, is that I have the advantage. I would slit your throat if you were not a King and a Dragon. Take this as a warning - my body is my own. I expected better from such a man as you."

She released him and sheathed her sword, and he crumpled to the floor, whimpering.

"Oh do get up," she told him irritably, rolling her eyes, "you will not buy my sympathy by crying like a babe."

But she held out an arm to pull him up anyway. He clambered to his feet without her help, pointedly ignoring the proffered hand. He glared at her as he retreated to his bed, with the passing shot:

"My sister will hear of this, and you will be removed from her service, and then I will kill you!"

Nina left the tent. She thought back on the encounter. It could have been worse, she supposed. He could have attacked her. But he was going to have to work very hard to win back her respect.


	6. Exile

**A/N: Hi! I hope you are enjoying my story so far! Feel free to review with your favourite character, what you want to happen next, constructive criticism and the like.**

Jorah

It was the dead of night when he was woken by shouts and running footsteps. Cursing, he pulled on his tunic and mail and grabbed his sword from where it rested on his chair. Then he ran out into the night. Viserys' tent was ablaze. The flames climbed high towards the starlit heavens, and the Dothraki seemed at a loss about what to do. He saw Daenerys in her nightgown, holding the arm of one of her maids - the one who carried a sword, was her name Nina? She seemed to be trying to persuade her not to do something.

"He is a Dragon!" Dany shouted, "fire cannot kill him!"

But Nina shook off her arm and ran towards the tent, ducking under a burning rope. Soon her footsteps retreated into silence and all they could hear was the crackling of the flames.

Suddenly Jorah saw a light disappearing westwards, and ran after it. He soon caught up with the man, who held a burning brand and spat and kicked when captured. Jorah wrestled the torch from his hands, kicked it to the ground and stamped on the flames, then dragged him back towards the camp.

Daenerys looked angry when she saw the man, and told Jorah to hold him still until it could be ascertained exactly how much he had endangered her brother. So Jorah stood silently, holding the man tightly by the back of his tunic, and waited.

After what seemed like an eternity, they heard coughing, and Nina emerged, half leading, half carrying Viserys Targaryen. His face was smeared with ash, his eyes tightly closed, and his hands red and raw from burns. He constantly coughed, hacking, dry coughs that set Jorah's teeth on edge.

Nina approached Dany and said something in a low voice, to which she gave a nod of assent. She led the King away, while his sister approached Jorah and his prisoner.

"An assassin sent by the usurper?" Dany asked.

"Yes, my Princess."

"Kill him. I have no wish to send vengeful words back to Westeros. Kill him and send the Baratheon dog his head."

Jorah nodded and led the prisoner away to be executed. Daenerys had true Targaryen blood, he could tell, and it was becoming stronger each day.

A few hours later, when the assassin was disposed of, he visited his King. A temporary bed had been made up for him in his public tent, and he lay semiconscious on the divan, while Nina Flowers cleaned the dust from his face and rubbed soothing balms on his burns.

"He will live," was her answer to his questioning glance.

"You show him much devotion," Jorah told her.

Her eyes moved away from his and focused on the man lying in front of her, looking as helpless as a child. There was great pity in them, and something else, too.

"He is my King," she answered quietly, moving a lock of silver-blonde hair away from his forehead so she could clean the skin underneath.

"Aye," Jorah answered, adding silently, _and a great deal more than that._


	7. Beggar King

**A/N: Greetings my fellow ASOIAF fans! Hope you are enjoying this! I own nothing, beware spoilers!**

Viserys

When Viserys woke, he heard a woman singing a sad, lonely song. He listened for a while with his eyes closed, and soon ascertained that the song spoke of a dying mother saying goodbye to her children. Eventually it got too sad and he opened his eyes and told the singer to stop. It was Nina Flowers.

She fell silent without argument, and he asked what had happened. She answered that it had been an assassin, and that Daenerys had had him killed and his head sent back to King's Landing. Viserys sat up in fury - how dare his little sister decide the fate of a man who had tried to kill _him_?

But when he expressed this sentiment, Nina pushed him back down onto the bed and told him not to be silly.

"You would have inflicted a similar punishment. Now lie still so I can change the bandages on your hands."

When she removed the bandages, Viserys saw the raw skin underneath and could not understand it. He was a Dragon! Fire should not be able to harm him.

When he voiced this fear quietly, Nina smiled slightly.

"You should not worry yourself so," she answered, "the Dothraki will still give you an army."

"But the fire runs in my veins! It is a part of me, it should not be dangerous to me!"

"A man may drown in a lake of blood, though that same substance is inside him. It does not make him less of a man, that blood can harm him though he has blood. So a Dragon may be burnt by fire and still carry the flames within himself."

Nina's words were so wise that for a moment Viserys could not speak. Then he winced as she began to apply a salve to his burns. He bit his lip, but soon the pain subsided and she wrapped new bandages around his hands.

Viserys remembered little of the fire, but he knew it was her who had saved him. He suddenly realised that without her he would not be alive.

"Thank you," he said, swallowing his pride as best he could and trying to forget he was speaking to a baseborn serving girl, "I owe you my life."

"Yes, you do," she answered.

"I think you can probably have that place in my Kingsguard now," he answered quietly, "seeing as I have none and it seems I am in more danger than before."

Nina nodded to acknowledge the great honour he was bestowing on her, and then she knelt, kissed his hand in fealty and swore loyalty to him.

He accepted her vow and then lay down, exhausted by the whole miserable affair. She sat beside him for a time, and just before he fell asleep, Viserys felt her pull a silk cloak over him, kiss his brow, wish him sweet dreams and leave.

He tried to pull himself from sleep to accost her for this overly-familiar behaviour, but he was so tired, he simply could not do it, and he allowed himself to slip into unconsciousness.


	8. Kingsguard

**A/N: Hello! I hope you are enjoying this so far! Sorry for the irregular update times, I always either miss my deadline or get impatient waiting for it, so I tend not to set them anymore. Warning for sex references ahead, though nothing too graphic, I don't like that kind of writing.**

Nina

Viserys slowly recovered. They never spoke of the fire afterwards. Nina knew she had feelings for him, but she did not think they particularly mattered. They were an advantage, if anything, because they made her more anxious about his safety and therefore she was better able to carry out her duties as Kingsguard.

He was, she knew, too close to madness for his own good, and she expected that it would not end well. His coin was still in the air, but she feared it would land on insanity. Too often did an expression of manic fury enter those beautiful purple eyes, too often did he curse all the gods, too often did he threaten his sister or shout at his councillors. The Targaryen line could ill afford another mad King.

And she was there through all of it, a few paces behind him, sword drawn, ready to protect him. She witnessed every tantrum, every good deed, and never spoke of them to anyone. She was not just his guard, she was his secret-keeper, his only true friend, although he did not know it.

One day he invited her into his tent again. She had been standing guard outside it when she heard his summons. She obeyed warily, but it was utterly different to the last time he had summoned her. He was quiet, his eyes downturned, he looked humbled and sad and very afraid.

Nina sheathed her sword and knelt before him, awaiting orders. Perhaps he wanted someone killed, she thought wryly. Although by the look in his eyes the intended victim could be himself.

"Oh get up," said her King, sounding weary and annoyed. She did so.

"Nina," he said quietly, as if her name were an incantation against disaster, or a spell to invoke good luck. She saw a tear form at the corner of each of his eyes - those incredibly Valyrian eyes, that pulled her in with every gaze.

"Yes, my liege?"

"Am I losing my mind?" he whispered quietly. Nina was caught completely off guard. She had been having similar thoughts, but what to say to him? Should she go for brutal honesty or comfort? Should she tell him the truth, to guide him back to sanity, or reassure him, to prevent one of his rages?

She had always been honest with him before. Why stop now?

"I believe so, my lord," was her answer. His hand clenched his sword hilt and the other grabbed onto the back of his chair for support.

"But I cannot go mad," he gasped out, shaking his head and looking in danger of collapsing, "I will not be my father. I must conquer the Seven Kingdoms, must take my rightful place on the Iron Throne. I cannot and will not go mad!"

He was shaking all over, like a frightened child. All his Kingly grandeur was gone. He was just Viserys now, not King, not lieglord, just a terified man trying to navigate the world. All his pomp and splendour had been stripped away, and he was a shadow of his former self.

Nina took his arm and led him to his bed. He sat down heavily. She perched beside him and, with some trepidation, slipped her arm around him. He did not react, he was so dejected.

"I will always be here to anchor you to reality," she promised, not sure if she would be able to keep her word.

He turned to her, looking pathetically grateful.

"Really?" he asked. She nodded.

Then he leant in and kissed her, and for a moment she was unsure of what to do, and then she responded to his kiss. They removed their sword belts and everything else, and made love all night.

In the morning, she redressed and returned to her post without waking him, and stood silent until he emerged. He said nothing to her, but the look in his eyes was of happiness, and he smiled at her as he walked by.

That was the first of many nights that she shared his bed.


	9. Mad King

**A/N: Well hello there! I know it has been a very long time since I last updated, I hope you haven't given up on me! I will be on half term soon so then I will have time to update more. Hope you are enjoying so far!**

Viserys

His world was falling apart and there was only one constant in his life: Nina. She kept to her promise of anchoring him, and she loved him. He loved her too, but he always found himself hurting her. It was the madness, the old Dragon madness, that had possessed his father. He thought of his brother losing the trident, of his niece and nephew dead in red cloaks, and his fury grew. But when he thought of Nina it shrank again. She, at least, understood him.

She would often talk to him of Highgarden and Westeros, and it made him so sad and so lonely that he usually asked her to stop, but when he looked back on them he loved those conversations. It was the only thing he had to keep him driven to get home. Sometimes he felt a strange emptiness inside of him, as if he was being drained. It was an unpleasant experience, but what hurt more was how little he understood of what was going on around him anymore. Nina tried to explain things to him simply, but all too often he would plaintively cry:

"I do not understand! Why is this happening?"

Sometimes he felt as if he was utterly alone. Dany had abandoned him for an oathbreaking savage, whose child she was carrying, and everything he had was gone. Even his mother's crown had been exchanged for a morsel of bread. It was not his fault though. He had done everything he could. He had fought and tried and bargained and demanded, but nothing was ever enough, and the hired knives of the enemy were always close behind. It would end soon, though. He would march into King's Landing with an army and kill the Usurper, and his heirs, in revenge for Aerys and for Rhaegar, and for Rhaella and Elia, and for Rhaenys and Aegon.

But only if that idiot horselord hurried up and gave him an army. He had not given up his chance to wed his sister just to be cheated out of his just payment for her. Nina said the Dothraki would give the army to him in their own time, but he was not willing to wait even a second longer than he had to for the force that he would bring back to the Seven Kingdoms. They were his only hope for retrieving the Kingship, and he disliked them being withheld from him.

Sometimes he thought about taking a tiny boat back to Westeros and darkening his hair with paint and working as a peasant, anything to be back in the land of his birth again. But no. The only way Viserys Targaryen would return to King's Landing was at the head of an army, with trumpets playing and banners flying in the wind, with a crown upon his head and the peasants bowing down to him. It would happen. It would.

At night, when he dreamed, it was always of being king. He dreamed of his coronation in the Great Sept of Baelor, and he dreamed of marrying Nina. He dreamed of a handsome son with his hair and her eyes, who won all his tourneys and was made a knight, and a beautiful daughter with her hair and his eyes, with hundreds of suitors flocking to marry her. He dreamed of Dragons sitting upon the battlements of his castle, of his children learning to ride them. He dreamed of a Kingsguard that would not betray him as his father's had. He dreamed of everything he was owed, and everything he wanted.

But some of these things, he reasoned, could be accomplished without conquering Westeros. As they arrived in Vaes Dothrak, he found Nina and asked to speak with her alone.

"I have someting to ask you," he told her.

"How odd, I have something to _tell _you," she replied, adding "you go first."

"I wish to marry you," he said. Of course once I claim the Iron Throne we would have a proper ceremony with fine clothes and fine food and thousands of guests and a septon, but I am sure there is a man or woman in the _khalasar _who could marry us now."

Nina seemed surprised, but then nodded quickly and eagerly.

"Tonight, after your banquet," she suggested. He smiled to show his agreement, then asked for her news.

"I am with child," she said.


	10. Lover

**A/N: Hello. I hope you are enjoying A Thorned Rose, please review, it means a lot :-)**

Nina

Viserys was drunk, she could tell. In his excitement at being soon a father and at being wed that evening, he had taken too much wine. She stood behind him, her sword round her waist, waiting for him to finish. Daenerys looked embarrassed at her brother's behaviour, but she said nothing.

Then Viserys began to complain loudly of the Dothraki's treatment of him. He stood up and banged his cup down on the table and screamed that they had cheated him.

"Sire," she said quietly, in a warning voice. He ignored her andd carried on shouting.

"Viserys," she hissed angrily, "don't be a bloody fool. They'll never give you an army now."

He either did not hear or did not listen, she never knew which one. He drew his sword and threatened to cut the pregnant _khaleesi__'s_ child from within her.

Then the bloodriders took hold of him and he struggled and implored Daenerys to do something, as Drogo removed his medallions and melted them. As he walked back towards her King, Nina drew Sleepbringer and pointed it at the _khal__. _

"By all the gods, I swear I will kill you if you touch him!" she shouted. Everyone stared. She had committed the same offence as her husband-to-be, and drawn a sword in Vaes Dothrak.

Drogo pushed last her with ease, and before she could do anything he had tipped the molten gold over his head. Those beautiful violet eyes registered shock and immense pain, and then he crumpled to the floor, gazing unwaveringly at Nina.

_I love you, and I am sorry, _he seemed to say. Nina bowed her head and sheathed her sword and let the tears run down her face. He was gone.

Only a few hours later, they would have been man and wife. Now that would never happen, and she would be sent from the _khalasar _for breaking the sanctity of the Dothraki city.

A few hours later, she was given a horse and told to "ride it where she would, but never return". Daenerys was the only one who bid her goodbye. The child within her and the one Nina carried were cousins, and all that remained of the Targaryen bloodline.

She longed to tell Dany that her child was not alone, and would have a family beside its parents. Instead she simply bowed, mounted her horse and rode away. She headed for a port from which she could travel back to the Seven Kingdoms. She had had her fill of Essos.

The child inside her was Viserys' child too, but it would never know its father. That made her angry. At least she had known both her parents, even if her father had been cruel to her. Her son or daughter would not even have that.


	11. Queen Across The Water

**A/N: Hello there! This chapter will be mainly thoughts and feelings rather than actual events, I thought it would be interesting to explore more deeply how Daenerys reacts to her brother's death besides naming herself Queen. **

Daenerys

Daenerys could not quite believe it. Her brother was dead, he had died in front of her. Nina had loved him, she could tell. And it looked rather like he loved her too. It was sad really, that love had ended this way. Daenerys felt Rhaego kick, but it did not bring a smile to her face as it once had.

Dany had liked Nina, she realised. She wished she had not had to leave. She would have loved to get to know the girl better. She had often seemed sad and angry. Daenerys had wanted to stop that. Instead all she could do was shoulder Viserys' burden. To raise the Targaryen banner all through the _khalasar, _and to fight until she reclaimed the throne in Westeros. She did not really want to do that. She wanted to settle down as Drogo's wife, and bear him children. She wanted to remain _khaleesi _and join the _dosh khaleen _when she grew old. Her sons would be mighty _khals _and bloodriders, if only she did not have the obligation to make them Princes and Kings.

But she was a Dragon, and her duty was to retake the Seven Kingdoms. It was all she could do, it was her purpose in this life, and she could not face Viserys or Rhaegar in the next life if she had not done her utmost to achieve that.

A warm breeze blew in from the west, and Daenerys imagined it whistling through the North, The Iron Islands and the Riverlands, and splitting into two, one branch going to the Westerlands and one to the Vale. The converged again in the Crownlands, she imagined. It would have flown through the Reach, Nina's home, and through the Stormlands. And it would have ruffled a few draperies in Dorne, before crossing the Narrow Sea and lifting a few stray strands of hair from her face. Dany had never been home, at least not that she could remember, and she realised why she had to return there.

She longed to stand on the easternmost point of Dorne and gaze out towards the Narrow Sea and remember her time in Essos. She longed to stand on the great Wall of the North and look out at the snow-covered land. She wanted to run with the wind in her hair through every place between them. She only wished that she could do so as the daughter of King Aerys, not as the wife of _K__hal _Drogo. Although she loved him, and was glad to be bearing his child, she wished that the Baratheon rebellion had never happened and she was back in King's Landing, that her ageing father was preparing to hand his crown on to Rhaegar, and that all was at peace. Daenerys just wanted none of it to have happened.

Viserys was dead. Her brother was dead. She was the last of the Targaryens now. No, she was not, Rhaego was a Dragon too. He always would be. It was not going to be easy, this crusade of hers. Nor did she expect the crown to bring her much joy when she finally acheived it.

She wished she had Nina's freedom. Nina could go where she pleased and no-one called her back or told her she owed it to her family to see through whatever task they wanted her to complete. She had no obligations or responsibilities. And she also had no home and no friends. That was when Dany understood that being of royal blood had privileges and downsides, and she would have to learn to live with that.


	12. Mother

**A/N: Hi there! I mentally divide my stories into two halves, and I would say the first half of A Thorned Rose is over. Don't worry, the second half should be interesting and the second book is going to be very, very long. Many thanks to those if you who reviewed for being incredibly supportive, and all of you who favourited or followed this story, I love you! I never thought there would be so many people reading my story!**

Nella

She had left Highgarden as soon as she had discovered that Mace Tyrell had turned their daughter out. Or rather, almost as soon as. She had done two things first. She had dictated a letter to Margaery, and asked that she delivered it if ever Nina returned. It read:

_My dearest daughter,_

_I have asked your sister to write this down while I speak it to her, seeing as I am not so good with letters. This is just to say that I am very angry with your father and refuse to work for him anymore. I have got a cottage in the Stormlands with some money that Margaery has very kindly given me. My cough is a lot better and I will be working as a washerwoman. If you are reading this, then I hope you will be soon at my house._

_Your mother Nella._

Then she sought out Loras Tyrell and told him her entire story. He seemed shocked that he had had an older sister and never known. When both these tasks were accomplished, she left.

Several months later, there was a knock on her door. There stood Nina, dressed in men's apparel, with a sword on her hip and her belly just swollen enough to tell Nella that she was with child. She did not judge her daughter, nor ask her cruel questions. She simply held open the door and beckoned her in. She helped Nella clean and mend clothes, and told her all that had happened. As she grew closer to the birth she dressed like a woman again, but the sword was always with her.

Nina called it "Sleepbringer". She said she had never killed with it and hoped she never would. But while she had been gone so much had changed. Robert Baratheon was dead. His son had succeeded him but Robert's Hand claimed Joffrey was not Robert's son. It seemed hundreds of rival Kings had set up courts in different places. Nina asked her whom she supported, and she answered that whoever could end these wars and make the land prosper again should rule.

"Why, who do you support?" She asked. Nina pursed her lips.

"I was about to say Daenerys Targaryen, for she is my friend and would have been my sister, but...on hearing your view I would say I agree with you."

"That Kingly lover of yours certainly taught you to speak well!" Nella exclaimed.

"Nonsense, I have always spoken like this, I have simply been away for a while and you have forgotten it," Nina said, half-teasing.

Nella tutted and turned back to her sewing.

"Sometimes there is too much Tyrell in you for your own good," she told her daughter with a fond smile, "you are too manipulative and too impertinent."

Nina laughed.

"Mace always said I was impertinent too, and I believe Viserys made similar comments once or twice," she mused, before winking at her mother and replying, "maybe it just runs in the family."

Nella sighed. How had her pretty little rose grown so many thorns?


	13. Knight of The Flowers

**A/N: Well hello there! I hope you are enjoying this. Who is still crying over Viserys? I know I am. Anyway, please please review as it means so much and thank you all for reading.**

Loras

He was still confused about the knowledge that he had a sister he had never even known. She had been right there all the time, if Nella was to be believed. Even if he did not trust the word of a servant, Margaery vouched for her, and when he subtly questioned his brothers they did seem to know about this mystery sister. Loras felt awful. He should have guessed, should have spoken to her.

"Ser Loras?" said a familiar voice, and he looked up hurriedly. Renly Baratheon was striding towards him, smiling. Loras instantly felt happier.

"I have a little idea for you, Ser," Renly said, "come, walk with me and we will discuss it."

As they walked, Renly suggested a marriage between himself and Margaery, adding that it would "change nothing," but would be a good tactic and might improve Renly's claim.

Loras did not really like the idea of Margaery being Renly's wife. Renly was - or at least this was how Loras saw it - _his. _But this was not the time to be sentimental and it might be a good idea.

They discussed the idea at length, picking out all its advantages and all its flaws. Eventually they decided to follow the scheme, if Margaery agreed, and moved on to talking strategy. When this topic died down, Loras said quietly:

"Something has been worrying me of late. I was wondering if I could talk to you about it."

Renly grinned.

"Of course," he said with a smile, "what is it?"

So Loras, in a low voice, explained about his previously unknown bastard sister, Nina, who was now living in the Stormlands. He spoke of his guilt at never realising that she was there, wondering how many times he had walked past her and never spared her a glance, while all the while she knew he was her brother. When he was finished, Renly looked around for a moment, to make sure they were not being observed, then put a hand on Loras' shoulder.

"You could not have known, Loras. You were never _cruel _to her. You did not spit in her face or hit her or call her rude names. You have not done anything to her."

"Exactly," Loras pointed out, "that is the problem. I should have guessed."

"How could you have known?" Renly replied, "you are not in the wrong here, your father is. And she is not your responsibility anyway."

Loras was not entirely convinced, but he knew Renly had tried his best, so he smiled at him and thanked him.

"Come on," he added with mock enthusiasm, "you ought to go and propose to my sister."

Renly laughed and followed him to where Margaery was watching them with a secretive smile and slightly narrowed eyes.


	14. Plotter

**A/N: Well hello there loyal reader, you are about to meet one of the most important characters in the Game's End. Well, when I say meet her, I mean she is about to be born.**

Nina

The pain was unbearable, but she could deal with it. At least this pain was physical. At least this pain would stop eventually. So she gave in to the pain and let it wash away, for the time being, the pain in her heart that she had carried for so long. A year ago she had been setting out from Highgarden in search of a new home. Now she lay on a bed in a small cottage, holding her mother's hand as she gave birth.

And what had happened between those two events?

Viserys.

Nina still saw his eyes when she closed her own, still looked for him beside her when she woke up each morning. His voice echoed in her dreams and in absent minded moments she would forget what had happened and think she was back with the _khalasar_. The remembering was almost as bad as the actual experiences had been. His screams as he died still made her cry whenever she thought about them.

The birth was nearly over. The child was already crying, and then it was free of her and her mother was cleaning it up and wrapping it in a shawl. Nina held out her arms and Nella placed the child in them.

"A girl," Nella told her.

The child had blue eyes, as all children did and as Nina still did. But they were darker than usual. Nina smiled slightly as she realised that those eyes would darken and become Targaryen eyes.

"My daughter is a Dragon," she whispered, and kissed her brow.

"What will you call her?" Nella asked.

"Alisabyth," Nina answered, "Alisabyth Storm."

"It is a little rude to presume her father would have acknowledged her, is it not?" Nella asked tentatively. Nina raised her eyebrows.

"He wanted to marry me Mother, I think he would have acknowledged her if she ended up being baseborn while he was alive."

As the months passed, and Alisabyth grew older, her eyes grew more violet and she began to grow a light smattering of dark brown Tyrell hair. The War of The Five Kings continued and many of their neighbours in the small village marvelled at Alisabyth's beauty, which was already showing itself despite her young age.

"She will not be weak." That was Nina's mantra. She would not raise an ordinary peasant girl, nor a simpering, overly polite diplomat. Her daughter would be strong, and no-one would control her.

Alisabyth Storm would be the strongest child born for many a year. She would be brave and she would fight for everything she loved.


	15. Wise Woman

**A/N: Well that just happened. So basically, I should probably come clean to you about something. Then again, that would spoil the plot twist. So I will just leave you to wonder what on Earth I am on about. Mwahahahahahaha.**

Clemaria

It had been an odd year. After visiting her cousins at Highgarden, she had travelled with them to King's Landing and there they had met the King, and more importantly his younger brother, Lord Renly. It had been obvious to her from the start that there was something going on between Renly and her cousin Loras. When King Robert died, all hell had broken loose. Lord Renly and his older brother, Lord Stannis, had set up rival courts, while over in Essos a girl with silver hair called herself Queen of the Seven Kingdoms. In the North, Robb Stark was calling himself King, and in King's Landing Robert's eldest son Joffrey was claiming the Iron Throne. The Tyrells had quickly declared in favour of Lord Renly to be King. Clemaria, though, had doubts. Her parents had always told her that she was a surprisingly perceptive girl. At eleven years old, she was faced with the question - who to support?

Lord Stannis had the right, if Ned Stark's claims were correct. Lord Renly had a good heart and cared about people. Prince Joffrey was the one whose ascension was most likely to bring peace. Lord Stark had the largest army and the most loyal soldiers. Princess Daenerys was a woman, and Clemaria had always thought that a Queen on the Iron Throne would be good. Besides that, she was brave and would quickly become the people's champion if she was crowned.

It was all speculation, anyway. She could hardly support anyone her family did not support. Her entire life had been spent following her family's demands.

She had been born on a boat bound for the Reach, tossing through the waves. Everyone had felt seasick, so there had been barely anyone to tend to Clemaria. Her mother had been taken down into the hold by a decidedly queasy wet-nurse,who knew next to nothing about giving birth. But Clemaria had been born without incident, except that a bag of salt her mother had been leaning on had split, and rivers of tiny white crystals had flowed through the hold. Her father had compensated the captain for the lost salt, but apparently salt was found all over Clemaria for weeks afterwards.

She just wanted to be free. She wanted to have her own choice in this war, to decide whether to support one of them, two of them or none at all. Instead she was stuck with Lord Renly, who was nice enough, but who cared a little too much for his crown and all the fine things Kingship brought. And she could not be sure her family even supported him because they thought his was the better claim. She had seen the way he looked at Loras and the way Loras looked at him. Love was all very nice, but it did not win wars, nor make you remembered in the future for doing great things.

Love was only a strength in peacetime. When the whole country was at war, it was an advantage for the enemy. Stannis, Joffrey, Daenerys and Robb could all make use of Renly's love. For blackmail, if he was lucky. If not, for other things. Maybe even torture. Although there was talk of an alliance with Robb Stark, so perhaps it would not be a problem with him for much longer.

Clemaria wanted to marry one day. But she wanted to do so when Westeros was at peace. She would like her spouse to be just a little younger than her, so she could be "in charge" as it were. Clemaria quite liked telling people what to do, but she was not bossy. She allowed others to voice their ideas too, and went along with them if they were better than hers.

Not that she had been given much chance to lead recently. In fact the last time she had been in charge had been in games she played with Margaery when they were younger. Margaery had been very accommodating and let Clemaria choose the game and the rules. She had even roped Loras in and got him to play too.

Sometimes she wondered if she should just run away. Margaery said that she and Loras, Garlan and Willas had a baseborn half-sister, who had left them and was living in the Stormlands with her mother. Clemaria envied her. She sometimes imagined, in great detail, turning up at Nina's (for that was her name) home and asking to be taken in. But they were just imaginings. She knew she could never flee.

Her family might not need her right now, but one day they would. She could feel that in her bones. As those odd Northmen said, the Winter was coming. And Winter was not a good time. It was a time when you drew your loved ones around you and waited for the Summer to return. It was a time of fear, a time of longing. Longing for the dawn.

Clemaria did not know how, but she knew that what she wanted from her life was to bring about the new day. And more importantly, the new age.


	16. Mourner

**A/N: We are so close to the end now, thanks for sticking with me, and with Nina, for this long. Never fear, the trilogy is far from complete and the story only gets better in my humble opinion. For those of you who might be wondering, Clemaria is pronounced Clem and then Arya, rather than Cle and then Maria. If that doesn't make sense to you, the aria bit sounds like the aria bit in Ellaria Sand. Oh, and Clemaria Tyrell is as important as Alisabyth Storm. Maybe even the tiniest bit more important.**

Nina

It was quiet in the cottage. Nella sat in the corner, silently mending a torn cloth cap. Alisabyth was sleeping. The Kings were on the move, preparing to fight. They would clash all over Westeros, and nowhere would be safe. Nowhere in the Seven Kingdoms would keep her little daughter safe until she was old enough to fend for herself. So Nina and Nella would just have to look after her.

Suddenly Alisabyth started to cry. Nina hurried over and saw those big, violet eyes, the eyes of the Dragon, filled with tears.

For a moment she thought she saw Viserys. His eyes were bright with hope and he spoke to her. _Go, live,_ he said, _our love should never be a burden for you. You can move on. I understand. Remember me, but do not let me destroy what happiness you have._

Then the vision was gone and she stood staring at her crying child. She scooped her up and rubbed her back, and soon the wails ceased. Had that really been Viserys, returning from the next life to relieve her of her suffering, or was it merely her tired mind (she had barely slept all week from grief, and fear about the future of Westeros) playing tricks on her?

Her mother barely noticed all that had occurred. She was having trouble threading her needle. When her daughter was asleep, Nina hurried outside, sat on the grass and thought. She thought back to the Viserys she had known, and realised that he would not have wanted her to be unhappy.

So she decided to move on with her life. She had a child to raise. There was not time to waste being sad. After all, her mother, abandoned by Mace Tyrell and her only help a small regular payment, had not been sad but had carried on and raised her child.

That, Nina decided, was what she would do. But if she ever laid eyes on her father again, she would hit him. And she imagined her mother would too. She wondered if Lady Alerie Hightower knew of her husband's deception? Probably not.

Seven hells, her father was awful. She hoped he died in the war. No, she did not truly wish that. She wished death on no-one. Not even Drogo, who had killed her lover, although she hoped he would endure great pain, and know the sadness that she had to live with.

She had never really been in love before Viserys. She wondered if she would ever be in love with anyone else. Perhaps, but it would never be as special.

He had been broken before he met her, and she had been slowly putting him back together. Then one night Drogo picked up all the pieces and threw them on the floor.

How would she tell Alisabyth, when she was older, why she had no father?

Why did he have to die?


	17. Lord of Storm's End

**A/N: I hope you are enjoying this story! I would like some advice from you, my lovely readers - I am thinking of getting Nina to remarry in the next story or maybe the one after, who should she marry? I am having difficulty thinking of anyone. Please review and tell me who you want to marry her, or if you think she should not remarry.**

Renly

They had arrived in the Stormlands a few days ago. The entire army, and Margaery, whom he had recently married but who held him to no obligations. Loras was there too, but Willas, Garlan, their young cousin, who was no more than a child, although she was said to be very intelligent, Mace, and Alerie had remained at Highgarden. As they rode through the villages, many of the smallfolk cheered and cried out,

"All hail King Renly! All hail Queen Margaery!" but in other villages there was only stony silence. In one they were even jeered. He did not mind particularly - the people were entitled to their opinions.

In one village, he was riding at the head of his host, Loras on his right, Margaery on his left, when he saw that Margaery was staring at something.

"What is it that commands your attention so thoroughly, my lady?" he asked. For a moment he thought Margaery had not heard him, but then she turned to face him. She seemed mildly surprised, as if she had forgotten where she was.

"Forgive me, your majesty," she said hurriedly, "but may I dismount for a moment?"

Surprised, Renly nodded, and offered to accompany her. Margaery assented, on the condition that they bring Loras as a guard.

Then they climbed off their horses and walked in the direction Margaery indicated. They approached a small cottage, no different to any other in the village, save that outside it stood a young woman with a babe in her arms. She seemed to be unaware of the procession passing through her home. Then suddenly Margaery cried out:

"Nina!"

The girl looked up, evidently shocked to hear Margaery's voice. She gaped at the sight of Renly and Loras accompanying Margaery.

Then Margaery ran the rest of the way and embraced the girl, then began to coo at the baby. A look of half-horrified, half-delighted comprehension crossed Loras' face and he turned to his King.

"This is our sister, your grace, the one I spoke of before."

Renly beckoned Loras to follow him and approached the young woman, who curtsied as best she could while holding the child.

"I hear you are my wife's sister," Renly commented. She smiled slightly.

"Aye my lord, and your niece's mother," she said, nodding her head towards her child. Margaery looked incredibly happy, but Renly was watching Loras. He seemed embarrassed and hung back, hoping Nina would not notice him.

"Loras, my brother," she said gently, and there was a great deal of sadness in her voice, "I did not look to see you or our sister again."

Loras blushed and apologised awkwardly for never knowing her at Highgarden. She laughed it off and told him not to worry about such petty things.

"Little Alisabyth will hear great tales of her uncles and aunt," said told him, stroking her daughter's head, "you are not excluded from that simply because you did not know you were my brother."

Then she looked hard at Renly and he felt rather scared at her intense gaze.

"Look after my little sister, Lord Renly, and my little brother too," she told him. It was not a request, he could tell, but a command.

"To the best of my ability, I will," he answered, then the Tyrell siblings bade their baseborn sister goodbye and the column rode on, but Margaery seemed more thoughtful and Loras was smiling.

Renly smiled too. It was a bright, warm day and he was the King, with an entire army ready to follow him. He had a kind, considerate wife and a lover who cared about him.

It was all working out perfectly.


	18. Little Bird

**A/N: Hey there! For this chapter I have decided to change focus, so I have moved the scene to King's Landing, and POV to Sansa because...Starks.**

Sansa

He was making plans to go to war against his uncles. He ran shouting through the castle, waving his sword and boasting about how many he would kill. He disgusted her. She sometimes imagined waiting in the Red Keep, and watching her brother's victorious army marching towards her. She imagined running out to greet Robb, and being shown Joffrey's head.

She hated him with a cold burning loathing. She hoped he would die in the battle. She would do anything to further his demise. Everything was his fault. Her father. Arya. Lady. Nymeria.

She had lost everything because of him. On the way to King's Landing last year she had believed it would be an adventure to go there, that she would want to stay in that city forever. Now, she could not leave.

She thought about her brothers. Robb, leading the fight against the monster that had enslaved her. Bran, broken and a cripple. Rickon, too young to truly understand what was happening. She had always hoped her life would be like a story - with a handsome prince who came to save her from the monsters. She had thought Joffrey was the prince.

But it turned out he was the monster.

She wished she had been more wary when the match was suggested. If she had asked to get to know Prince Joffrey before deciding, instead of assuming he was perfect for her because he was beautiful, maybe she would be happier now. As it was, she was trapped and she knew it. She hated knowing.

She sometimes half-wished for the days when she had not known. When she had been blind to his follies and cruelties and had been utterly infatuated with him. At least then she had been happy.

But she still understood why it was better to know.

_I will never marry him, _she thought to herself,_ I do not know how, but I will prevent this. Even if it disgraces me, I will get out of this marriage._

Those thoughts were her only consolation in the dull painful days and the quiet miserable nights. She repeated them to herself when she felt particularly desolate. She sometimes wished that Arya was still with her. To comfort her, to laugh with her, to throw food in her face and chase her around the keep.

When she had lost Arya she had lost her childhood. She had lost her outrage at a ruined gown, her disdain for Arya's attempts to be like the boys. She had lost the things that tied her to Winterfell, and to who she used to be.

Dainty little Sansa with the sister she hated but secretly loved was gone. Now she was cold, unfeeling Lady Stark, because the only way she could face each new day in King's Landing was by veiling all her emotions, and by only allowing herself to feel anything when she was alone at night.

She felt trapped in a cage, repeating meaningless prattle to prevent her death. She had no-one she cared for and no-one who cared for her. She was utterly alone here. Words could not describe how lonely she felt. The more people that surrounded her, the brighter their clothes and the louder their chatter, the greater her loneliness.

Some of the people tried to be kind to her, others ignored her. Sansa was not sure which made her feel worse. When people were kind, it made her realise that she was an object of pity, that everyone knew the indignity with which she was treated.

When she was ignored, it felt like they were walking past her as she screamed for help. Couldn't they see she was dying inside? Obviously not. Or maybe they could, and did not care, because she was only a poor little bird in a golden cage.


	19. Little Rose

**A/N: Hello there! Just five chapters left! Please review with suggestions for Nina's future spouse, hope you liked the random deviation in the last chapter.**

Margaery

She was thinking about her recent encounter with Nina. Of her charge to Renly to look after her and her brother, of the child with the violet eyes, of Loras' guilt and Nina's response to it.

They would go to war soon. And then she would be the Queen. Ever since she was young Margaery had dreamed of being Queen. Now she would be one, if they succeeded in their war.

Margaery began to wonder who the child's father was. She had known little of where Nina was going, only that it was in Essos. But Essos was a big place. But those eyes...those eyes that were irrefutably...Targaryen.

Surely not, though. Surely there were any number of men in Essos of Valyrian descent who could have fathered the girl. Why should it be the Targaryen pretender?

And yet. And yet. There had been a certain aspect in the child, something almost _regal. _There had been something almost fierce about Alisabyth Storm. Her eyes had not blinked, and she had possessed a strange aura of danger and power. Margaery wished she had asked Nina who the father was, but then again, it would not have been proper.

Suppose, for a moment, that Viserys Targaryen _was _Alisabyth's father. When the girl was older, she might try and claim the Iron Throne for herself. What then? But no. Nina was wise enough to raise her daughter to be unambitious, and a baseborn girl's claim would never gain support.

They would go to war with Stannis very soon. Margaery wondered, for just a moment, if she might be out of her depth. Then she smiled to herself and shook her head. Grandmother had taught her what to do, in every possible scenario she found herself in. She would be fine. She was a Tyrell, and Tyrells did not shirk from fighting for what they wanted. Let others think they were passive players, who sat back and remained neutral, or who pledged allegiance to the highest bidder. All the while that people were underestimating them, they would be biding their time, growing stronger every day. Growing strong, in fact.

Margaery wanted a crown on her head. She wanted power. But for the first time she wondered if Renly would be able to give her those things. Say they lost the war, what then? Renly would be killed, and she and Loras would no doubt be arrested, perhaps executed. War was a dangerous game to be playing, and she did not like how close to a precipice they were dancing.

But if they stepped back, Stannis, Joffrey, Daenerys, Robb or the now-rebelling Balon Greyjoy would run forward and claim what they were fighting for. It was renounce their claim, or be very likely to fall.

And Margaery did not know which would happen to them. She only hoped that their army would triumph. She did not like to think about what might happen if they did not.


	20. Lord of Dragonstone

**A/N: Well, still stuck on who Nina should marry, but never mind. I'm sure I'll think of someone. I think I should make it clear that for the rest of this series some deaths and marriages will be honoured, some will be completely ignored for the sake of the plot. Enjoy what little is left of A Thorned Rose!**

Stannis

He had been trying for the past few days, without success, to understand what it was that had possessed his younger brother to fight him for the crown. No-one could deny that Stannis was the rightful King if Robert's children were not, in fact, Robert's children, but Renly still seemed to think he could succeed. He had married, to ensure his bloodline continued. He had raised an army. He had made himself a court in Highgarden. He had declared himself the champion of the people. He said that he was a stronger leader, that he was more charismatic and so the people would respect him more.

None of these things were true, but it mattered not. Renly would not win. _He _did not have the Lord of Light on his side as Stannis did. He was Azor Ahai reborn. So the Red Woman said, anyway. She had turned half the camp to her religion, it seemed. Even Selyse had become a believer. Stannis was more sceptical, but he kept that to himself.

It seemed only Davos was still holding fast to the Faith of the Seven.

For the first time in a long while, Stannis remembered his daughter, Shireen. He wondered what she believed.

Stannis was sure that he or Selyse had some kind of curse or sickness. They had lost all their boys and their only surviving girl had been made ugly by greyscale.

Stannis stopped at the door to Shireen's chambers and looked in. She was curled up on a small divan, reading a book. She had not seen him. He watched for a while, not sure whether to go in or not, and eventually crept away, feeling guilty. He had not spoken to the child in weeks. He could not stand the reproachful looks she would no doubt give him if he entered the room.

Besides, it always made him feel like a failure to look at her grey, stone-hard face. Even though he knew there was nothing he could have done to prevent the disease, and that he was lucky she had survived it, his anger whenever he saw her scars was painful to him. He doubted she would ever marry. Who would want her, even if she was a good match?

Stannis knew that his daughter was intelligent and kind, and yet he could not get past her grey face, that marked her out to all the world as unclean, spoiled, incomplete.

That marked her out as broken.


	21. Seamstress

**A/N: Gosh, this story is going so fast! Huge thanks to all of you who read this, and even bigger thanks to those who reviewed. Don't worry, still two more fanfictions before we say goodbye to The Game's End, and trust me, I can't stop myself writing it, so there will probably be spin-offs!**

Nina

It was strange, the war did not seem to have changed anything at all, not for the common people. In a way, it was probably pleasanter at the moment to be a peasant than a high lord or lady. You were far less likely to be brutally murdered at any given moment, and no-one came marching in to remove you from your home.

Still, she wished very much that the war would end soon, for her siblings' sakes. Margaery was wise and manipulative, but she was still a woman, and women were never truly free of the control of men. Willas was intelligent and respectable, but his lame leg meant he was disadvantaged if attacked. Garlan would be alright, she supposed, but Loras, despite being a talented warrior, was vulnerable to blackmail because of his preferences. She hoped her oldest brother, younger brother and sister would be safe. It would be a sad fate indeed if only she and Garlan were left when peace returned to Westeros.

Her mother was inside, no doubt washing clothes or tending Alisabyth. Nina had become the mender - she sewed up any and all ripped garments brought to them. It did not bother her, for it provided a welcome distraction from her worries and made her feel like she was helping her little family, albeit in a very small way.

She still missed Viserys, but she was learning to manage without him. After all, she was going to have to. He wasn't coming back any time soon. Their daughter was all she had left of him. She now found she could look back on their times together and smile, instead of weeping. Her lost, frightened dragon. Oh, she had loved him.

She hoped for peace soon. Warring Kings meant little sleep at night. Renly Baratheon. Stannis Baratheon. Joffrey Baratheon. Robb Stark. Balon Greyjoy. Daenerys Targaryen. Their names were on everyone's lips. Every one seemed to have their own prefered ruler.

Nina just wanted a safe Westeros. She didn't care who brought that.

Sometimes she wondered if skulking out here was the right thing to do. Nothing remotely important had mappened to her since the meeting with Renly. Nina knew that despite her bastard status, she had Tyrell blood, and was inextricably caught up in all that was happening.

Then one day she heard tell that King Renly had been killed, and everything fell apart. Nina cried for three consecutive hours. She had not known that she cared at all about him, but she considered him her brother now, and he was gone. That would place her entire family at risk unless they allied themselves with another large house, and soon.

And they could not afford to have this happen again. The house they joined with would have to win this war. If it did not, the winning house would not be merciful to a house that had twice been its enemy.

The choice the Tyrells were about to make was going to be momentous. They could not afford to go wrong.


	22. Lady of Highgarden

**A/N: Well, here we are at the penultimate chapter, who is excited? I know I am. Hopefully you have had enough time to get over our favourite dead dragon. I promise that it gets more interesting in the next fic. If you have any characters you really want to see included, leave me a review and I will tell you if I have plans for them. If I don't, I will try to bring them in. Also sorry about neglecting you for ages.**

**NB The opinions expressed in this chapter by Alerie Hightower about homosexuality do not reflect the author's in any way.**

Alerie

They had allied themselves with House Lannister, which was a lot more agreeable to her than their previous alliance had been. She had disliked the late King's degenerate brother, and could not understand why the fool had believed he deserved the Iron Throne more than the eldest trueborn son (for those rumours of bastardy were clearly just that - rumours) of the previous ruler.

She had also disliked the way he had corrupted her little Loras. She was sure he would have turned out ordinary if not for Renly. Still, such corruption was irreversible and she would just have to get used to it.

She also disliked how much her mother-in-law was taking over her only daughter's education. Margaery was not Olenna's child, she was Alerie's, and she disliked how little she saw of her these days.

But none of that was important now that she knew the worst thing, the thing that Mace had done. It had come out the previous night, when they had eaten together.

Willas had been quiet, but Garlan talked almost without ceasing of the many delights to be found in King's landing.

Margaery had been making conversation with Olenna, and Alerie and Mace had been listening to their second son's excited chatter. Then she had noticed Loras looking unusually unhappy. He gazed down at his plate with sadness etched into his features, instead of his usual anger.

"What is the matter, sweetling?" she had asked. His answer:

"Mother, our father has deceived you and I am saddened by his cruelty to you."

When she asked what he meant, he answered that Mace had fathered a baseborn daughter with a common serving-girl named Nella.

Alerie gazed in incredulity at Mace, who denied it virulently.

"I can vouch that Loras is not lying," said Margaery solemnly, "the girl currently lives in the Stormlands with her mother, and recently gave birth to Viserys Targaryen's bastard. I am sure she would come, if we summoned her."

"That will not be necessary," Alerie had answered crisply, and then she had left the room and had not spoken to Mace since.

She had been ill-used, and liked it not.


	23. Prince That Was Promised

**A/N: This is the last chapter of A Thorned Rose. It is set a year or so after the previous chapter, just before the Purple Wedding. Enjoy!**

Clemaria

She had a dream. In that dream, she was kneeling before the Iron Throne, upon which sat Rhaegar Targaryen. He stood, and took her hands, and raised her to her feet.

"Welcome, little one," he told her, "you are here because you have a great destiny. There will be two others. A dragon, the one, and the other, a princess. They will give you strength and wisdom, and you will help them in purifying this land. "

"My Lord, I do not understand!" she exclaimed, "what would you have me do?"

"It is not what I would have you do, but what the Seven would have you _be_," he answered.

"Go out into the world, and find the other heads. For a dragon must have three heads. You are the Prince That Was Promised. Be brave, be wise, and be merciful, and know that you are no more important than the others are."

When she awoke, she puzzled over what to do. Finally she decided to go to her dearest cousin.

"Garlan," she told him, "I must raise an army."


End file.
